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Over twenty years ago, Dubai began constructing the world's largest artificial archipelago of islands, designed to be a lavish oasis for the super-rich. Today, the islands stand mostly empty and some are sinking back into the sea, but the developers and government of Dubai refuse to give up on the mind boggling mega-project. Let me tell you about this astonishing feat of engineering, how it did work--kind of, but also hasn’t panned out the way they hoped, and why they’ll probably never let this one go no matter how bad an idea it was. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Nakheel PropertiesDubai Set To Open Heart Of Europe With 6 Outrageous Themed IslandsThe World is sinking: Dubai islands 'falling into the sea'Owner of Dubai's 'little Britain' jailed for non-payment of chequesSecond Irish property investor kills himself over financial problemsWritten and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

Why most New Year’s resolutions fail, the Babylonians and Romans, putting our hands on a peacock, setting and getting goals, habit formation, motivation vs. discipline, believing you deserve to have what you want, and what procrastination really is (you’re not lazy). Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741 Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-800-799-7233 VictimConnect, a referral helpline for victims of crime: 1-855-484-2846 For veterans, Make The Connection America's Top New Year's Resolutions for 2023 StatistaAtomic Habits by James ClearHow Long Does it Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science) James Clear Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

The Theranos saga continues. Updates on Elizabeth Holmes' sentencing and Sunny Balwani's trial and verdict. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources Theranos Full Explainer: https://failedutopia.com/theranos/ Holmes Trial & Verdict Updates: YouTube https://youtu.be/P9xR6jn84kU Audio only https://failedutopia.com/theranos-update/ Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

Colonialism and utopianism, as Thomas More coined the term, have been linked since the early sixteenth century when European explorers began taking stock of newly accessible lands that would later become colonies. Colonists had the expectation of achieving a much better life by settling in "new" lands, while producing a dystopia for the original inhabitants. Optimistic colonists didn’t always find what they expected, but for centuries they continued to emigrate and settle, driven by utopian projections of what their new lives would be like. Today we talk about one of the first colonies in the New World and how it all went wrong. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources Roanoke Colony World History EncyclopediaThe Roanoke Colonies Encyclopedia VirginiaThe Roanoke Colonies James Horn, The First Colony FoundationHave We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island?Archaeologists May Have Finally Solved the Mystery of the Disappearance of Roanoke’s Lost ColonyRoanoke’s ‘Lost Colony’ Was Never Lost, New Book Says Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

Let’s talk about an environmental catastrophe that turned a tourism and wildlife paradise into a toxic wasteland. This is something that we’re starting to see happening all over the world and that’s only going to become more of a problem in the future thanks to climate change.  Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Ghost towns and toxic fumes: How an idyllic California lake became a disasterHow California’s Salton Sea went from vacation destination to toxic nightmareAs the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces an ‘Environmental Nuclear Bomb’Lake Urmia, Iran’s Tarnished Gem Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

The Church of Love: Chonda-Za, Love Angels, lonely hearts, and a whole lot of questionable love letters. Plus, self-delusion and seeing things for what they are. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741 Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-800-799-7233 VictimConnect, a referral helpline for victims of crime: 1-855-484-2846 For veterans, Make The Connection Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain by Shankar Vedantam & Bill MeslerHidden Brain: Lonely HeartsChurch Of Love Drama: Sex, Money, Angels And Broken Dreams AP News 1988Knights of Chonda-Za Chicago Tribune 1988Church of Love operators plead innocent to fraud The Daily Dispatch 1987‘Church of Love’ wasn’t quite angelic Quad-City Times 1989Successful love angel: ‘Pure and wholesome’ The Des Moines Register 1988 Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

In Part 2, hopefully we’re gonna have a little more fun talking not about techno-utopia, but actual physical utopian communes based around the love of crypto. Cryptoland, Cryptopia, Satoshi Island, Bitcoin Beach, Bitcoin City, and actually, the entire country of El Salvador. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources Tragic Cryptoland trailerCryptoland websiteWhen Your Island Paradise Goes Bankrupt...Thailand’s Crypto Utopia — ‘90% of a cult, without all the weird stuff’Satoshi Island websiteBitcoin paradise? Briton creates ‘crypto utopia’ in South PacificSix months in, El Salvador’s bitcoin gamble is crumbling Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

Cryptocurrency is one of the most buzzy techno-utopian ideas out there. Is it really a disruptive technology of the future? Or a bunch of esoteric, elitist, crypto-bro BS? Even a scam? Let's talk about what crypto is and what it's good for... or not. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources Computer Scientists Say Crypto Industry Is Misleading the Public About Blockchain TechnologyWhy This Computer Scientist Says All Cryptocurrency Should “Die in a Fire”The Ramps Killing Bitcoin's Dissident ThesisLuxury cars seized from 23-year-old 'Crypto King' as investors try to recoup millionsTerra Co-Founder Do Kwon Faces Arrest Warrant in South KoreaNearly All NFTs Created With OpenSea’s Free Minting Tool Are Fake, Plagiarized, or SpamMan who threw away £150m in bitcoin hopes AI and robot dogs will get it backLost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin FortunesWritten and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

The Farm was once the largest hippie commune in U.S. history, and it still exists today albeit in a somewhat different form. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources https://thefarmcommunity.comhttps://www.thefarm.orgWhat life is like when you’re born on a commune Erika AndersonStephen Gaskin obituary“40 Years on the Farm” documentaryWritten and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

A spiritual Indian utopia that’s over 50 years old, but still very much a work in progress. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville by Akash KapurBulldozing a dream? Auroville’s importance as an experiment in alternative livingBulldozers, violence and politics crack an Indian dream of utopiaWritten and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

On this episode, the fascinating story of Biosphere 2, the largest closed ecological system ever created… or, how eight people went nuts and almost starved in a vivarium for humans. Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources https://biosphere2.orgMark Nelson’s 2018 article Biosphere 2: What Really Happened?Spaceship Earth Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations

The Helicon Home Colony was the brainchild of the renowned author and muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair. It lasted less than 6 months and went down in a literal blaze. "We stood in the snow and watched our beautiful utopia flame and roar, until it crashed in and died away to a dull glow." Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website. Links & Resources The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Autobiography of Upton SinclairUtopia, New Jersey: Travels in the Nearest Eden by Perdita BuchanRadical Innocent: Upton Sinclair by Anthony Arthur Written and produced by Anna Roberts Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez Intro music by Elliot Middleton Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/failedutopia/donations